We are finally back on the road again.
We have experienced a gradually increasing problem with our engine temperature for the last 5 to 7 years, We have been to a number of places including Cummins. We replace the thermostats twice, the water pump, and we even waited 2 months this spring at our home base for the solenoid that controls the fan turning on and off. All these parts didn't help and the problem kept getting worse.
This year we made it to Bend, Oregon and went to Bend RV Repair, one of our advertisers. We came to Jeff and his staff for some work including rhino on the roof and the lower bottom of the front nose of the coach. By this time the overheating problem was really getting bad. So Jeff went to work. We spent 6 weeks and 1 day behind Jeff's shop hooked up to 50 amp and water with a dump point nearby. We had parts everywhere. We replaced the radiator, nope not the problem. Jeff took apart the hydraulic fan pump, the fan motor, took all hoses off, took apart the fluid divider (diverts hydraulic fluid between the transmission and the fan).
Since all this was apart we replaced the hoses, got a new fan motor, got a new hydraulic pump, and lots of parts I really don't know. The up shoot is that the problem was probably the spline (shaft) from the hydraulic pump and the spline receiver on the engine air compressor. (see photos). Both the spline and the receiver were badly worn. The consensus of opinion is that the wear was keeping the fan speed too low and the engine was overheating. This was confirmed with comparisons of rpms of the fan made before and after repairs. Realize these parts are 21 years old and have never been replaced on our engine.
We made our final test when we left Bend Friday Aug 30 and headed to a CG along the Columbia River. We went up the climb north of Madras which is 1300 feet which is where we overheated after leaving Bend RV Repair the first time. Wow what a difference!! You can imagine we were biting our nails and praying that the problem had finally been solved. There were many ups and downs to get to the CG and so far so good. We have not overheated.
We highly recommend Jeff and his staff at Bend RV Repair. They are absolutely wonderful!!!!!! We can't say enough about their kindness and dedication to finding the problem and doing the job right.
Hope to see everyone at Spruce Goose and 7 Feathers.
